title: Transdisciplinary research and evaluation for community health initiatives.
abstract: Transdisciplinary research and evaluation projects provide valuable opportunities to collaborate on interventions to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Given team members' diverse backgrounds and roles or responsibilities in such projects, members' perspectives are significant in strengthening a project's infrastructure and improving its organizational functioning. This article presents an evaluation mechanism that allows team members to express the successes and challenges incurred throughout their involvement in a multisite transdisciplinary research project. Furthermore, their feedback is used to promote future sustainability and growth. Guided by a framework known as organizational development, the evaluative process was conducted by a neutral entity, the Quality Assurance Team. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to garner feedback and clarify how the research project goals could be achieved more effectively and efficiently. The multiple benefits gained by those involved in this evaluation and implications for utilizing transdisciplinary research and evaluation teams for health initiatives are detailed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Leah C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: Audrey K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bangi
authors.forename: Vincent T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Francisco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D000295:Adolescent Medicine; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D003256:Community Participation; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult